One Thousand Pearls
by Rice-Ball247
Summary: The merman!Prince Harry falls in love with a human that has fallen into the ocean. He begs for the chance to go to the Land of Man, only to realise that a life above the water will only bring him more heartache. DMHP, DMAG, implied RWHP, three-shot
1. The Prince

**One Thousand Pearls**

by Rice-Ball247

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. They are the work of J.K. Rowling and I make no profit. This story was based off the manga 'Mister Mermaid' by Setona Mizushiro, which in turn, was based off the classic, 'The Little Mermaid', which I'm sure most of you are familiar with.

**Warning: **slash (boy x boy) and het (boy x girl), nothing graphic, mermen/maids, OOC, AU.

**EDIT-**

**Thanks to: _Maurauders-And-Lily-I-Love_**, for doing an excellent job at beta-ing this fic. Any mistakes you see are my fault, or the computer's fault for doing auto-corrections where we don't realise it. And thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed so far!

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter One: The Prince**

_How could anyone place a value on life? _

Waves crashed against the cliff-face, roiling about in the sea, in a wild storm that encompassed the land and ocean. The rain felt chilling and sharp against his pale, clammy skin. Above him, the full moon was the only light as far as the naked eye could see.

_And what was the point in life…_

A deep breath – inhale, exhale – salt-laden air rushed through his lungs; he hated it. The white button-up shirt he wore was soaked through, clinging to every surface of his skin. His platinum-blond hair was darkened with rain, the wet strands plastered to his forehead and framing his angular face. He could feel the sparse grass and sandy-soil underfoot. One step forward to freefall.

_… when it all ended in death? _

---

It was the reflection of the full moon on the water that connected the world of the mermen with the land of the humans. On a night like this, Harry watched from his position, perched on a deep-sea rock, as the lone moon ruled the sky and cast a sphere of opalescent white on The Surface – a place his father had explicitly forbid him from approaching.

There were no other mermaids around, opting instead to attend the magical party that took place at the Palace. Everyone was celebrating the Full Moon Festival, in recognition of the first full moon of the year. The King, James Potter, was ruler of the Deep Sea, a protective father who had only the best interests for his sole heir to the throne.

In compromise for the protection of his only son, it also meant relinquishing the prince's freedom. Harry resented it. He had snuck out of the Palace to be alone. No one would miss him, not really. He had always been an obedient boy, always listening to his father, never questioning the world outside the Palace walls. Sheltered as he was though, he still felt a longing to go to the Surface today. Something was pulling him towards it.

So here he was, settled on a rock a safe distance away from the Palace – not too far so that he would be lost, but not too close so that he would be easily spotted. From here, he had an incredible view of the doorway between his world and the world of man. Harry's eyes shone in amazement as he gazed at the beautiful moon, not hidden by the windows of his home.

It was then that he noticed something silhouetted in the light of the round moon, one that was steadily sinking to the ocean floor. A spike of fear shot down his spine as he realised it was a body, and he mounted into action. He shot up instantly, his beautiful, translucent flippers propelling him easily through the water. His smooth, emerald green scales were unique to the Royal Family, but more so to Prince Harry.

The body fell into his arms effortlessly, cradled by the water that made everything seem almost weightless. Harry studied the man that had sunk the depths of the ocean into his arms intently. He was tall and well-built. If Harry had been on land, with _legs _like the ones this man had, he was sure he would have collapsed under his build if he had caught him.

But the water helped him, holding the man up where he could not. The man was handsome, with a strong, angular jaw, a straight nose and deliciously high cheekbones. Blond hair, the lightest Harry had ever seen, was floating about the man's head like a golden halo. The prince took only a few moments to appraise the man's body (he was human after all, and would need air very soon), and learned that he was still very much _alive._

"_HARRY!"_

The prince froze where he floated as he caught sight of his best friend, Ron, swimming through the water at breakneck speed. Ron had been assigned as a bodyguard when they were only children, because Harry refused to accept one the old, bulky ones his father had favoured. As such, Ron was built like a tank, but even he was matched equally by the man in Harry's arms.

The red-head was furious. "What do you think you're doing out of the palace?! Everyone is in uproar. You leave that-that- _what are you doing_?!"

Harry smiled at him sadly, "I'm taking him back to the surface."

"Just leave him there! Someone else will take care of it. A human that has reached this far has been long dead," Ron snapped, intending to pull Harry back in the direction of safety. But the raven-haired prince refused.

"No, he's still alive. He's unconscious, so he hasn't swallowed any water."

"_Leave it be, _Harry! I'm serious! Harry! Come back here!" Ron shouted, unable to do anything but follow when his orders fell on deaf ears. He trailed behind his prince as they approached The Surface. Just before they broke the surface of the water, Prince Harry stopped.

"I will take him back to the shore. Remain here, Ronald."

The prince only ever referred to him as Ronald whenever it was an order he had to obey. Between the wrath of the king and the prince's expression of disappointment, he'd put himself under the king's fury any day. Harry had a habit of making _anyone _feel bad when they disappointed him, and it was a feeling that Ron hated. So he obeyed the prince, remaining unmoving as the magnificent figure swam away with his precious burden.

---

Harry broke through The Surface and began to tread water. He waded through to the shore, feeling a magical tingle shoot down his spine, and suddenly, his body felt very, very heavy and weak. He collapsed as gravity pulled the weight of the man down atop him, as in the place of his fins, he had two very solid, very real _legs_.

Astounded, Harry set the man down on the sand and ran one hand along the smooth skin of his right leg. It was wet and slightly slimy but that was to be expected when mermaids left the water at first. Turning back to the man, he smiled softly to himself.

_My name is Harry_, he almost ached to say_,_ but couldn't. It was part of the enchantment that kept his kingdom hidden from the humans. If humans were to enter their water sanctuary, they would be unable to live there due to suffocation from lack of air. If mermen were to leave the kingdom and enter land, they would lose their voices, unable to speak of the place from whence they came, or else the enchantment would break. They would lose their legs and, despite having fins, would be unable to return to the ocean.

The prince left a gentle kiss on the man's freezing forehead, brushing the blond fringe away from the handsome face before he tentatively rose from where he stood and wobbled back unsurely into the water.

Turning back, he smiled as he saw the moonlight bathe his one-time acquaintance in an ethereal glow before he returned to the Palace.

---

"Draco! Hey, Draco!"

The blond in question turned when he heard his name being addressed and gave the approaching man and woman a quirked smile. "Hello Blaise, Pansy."

The tall, dark-haired man grinned as he patted Draco just between his shoulder blades. "I heard from Millicent that you were released from hospital a few days ago. How're you feeling?"

"Well enough to open up my restaurant again," Draco informed him with a wry smile. He nodded once at Pansy, then said, "You two should come by, sometime. Give me a bit of a kick start."

"Sure thing, Drake. Hey, we have to go. We have a dinner appointment. Pansy came back from Japan last month. You missed a lot," Blaise relayed, one arm slung around his fiancé's shoulder. "See you around, yeah?"

"Yeah, see you," and with that, Draco continued on his way home.

Pansy shot her beloved a curious look. "What do you mean, 'released from hospital'? What happened when I was gone?"

Blaise's smiling expression at Draco's back turned sad immediately at the mention of Draco's hospital stay. It was something their group of friends had decided not to talk about, at least, not directly to Draco's face. "About two months ago, Draco fell into the ocean and washed up on shore. Some locals found him and took him to hospital. He had pneumonia and hypothermia from being out in the storm and then under water for so long. He said that it was just an accident – that he slipped and fell in. Others… others say that it was a suicide attempt."

---

It had been two months since Harry had rescued the human from the sea-depths. Two very restless months. He yearned to see that man again. The Palace was suffocating – Harry hated being there now that he had had a glimpse, a taste of the outside world, one that was further out than the castle walls.

It would be a while until the next full moon, but there was no point in waiting, because there was no chance he would ever be able to leave the palace again. King James had put him on house arrest, and Harry, resentfully, obeyed his father's order. Not only Ron, but a full set of bodyguards were to be around him at all times.

He hated it.

His mother, the beautiful Queen Lily, had tried to compromise with her husband, but the deep-sea ruler was unyielding. Harry would stay within the Palace walls at all times, and there were to be a minimum of five mermen guarding whatever room he was in, excluding Ron.

Harry was sick of it. He'd had enough, and he had to escape from them. He knew just what to do.

---

"Please!"

"Do you know what you ask of me, young Prince?"

Harry kept his head bowed respectfully, his tone contrite as he rephrased his command to a request, "I apologise, Sorcerer Dumbledore. Please, I _beg_ of you, free me from captivity at the Palace. Grant me a life above The Surface, please!"

The age-wizened wizard watched with pitying blue eyes as the Prince sank to the ground, his tail tucked behind him in submission. "All I ask of you is that you give me this chance. I will do anything."

Albus Dumbledore sighed as the prince, who he had come to regard and love as a grandson, begged him for an escape to a place where no mermaid would voluntarily wish to go. He knew, first hand, that the Land of Man was no paradise. It was war-torn, overflowing with poverty and starvation. Not only that, but they poisoned the home of the mermaids, releasing toxins into their waters. They fished for their friends and _consumed_ them without realising that all the fish they ate could have been family to others.

_Humans._

Such disgusting, filthy creatures. Which is why they must _never_ find out about the Underwater Kingdom. They would taint it. Yet the Prince… _Prince Harry!_ The prince who was gentle, kind and forgiving; who sacrificed so much for others… that _he_ would do such a foolish, _reckless_ thing! It was preposterous!

But that was where Sorcerer Dumbledore's weakness lay – he loved the Prince too much, and despite everything, was willing to grant him this one wish.

"You know the conditions, my prince," Dumbledore reminded Harry, who gave a clear nod of his head and rose to his full height.

"Yes, Sorcerer Dumbledore. I relinquish my voice and my identity for however long I remain in the Land of Man."

"I will grant you _one month_," Dumbledore said, his voice soft and pained. "You are the Prince, and I cannot allow you to leave any further than that."

"It is more than enough. I just wish… to see _him_ again…" the prince whispered, willing away the tiny pearls that slipped out of his eyes as the wizard awkwardly patted his head with leathery hands.

"And you will, if you know where to look. My magic will take you to the shores. Until such a time that you will need me again, I will disappear. Summon me when the full moon of the next month appears. I will bring you back home."

---

Harry felt his heart jolt up into his throat as he woke up, facedown and drenched upon the shore he had deposited the blond man's body. He wriggled in the wet sand, slightly comforted by the water he could feel lapping against his legs.

Legs. He had legs!

And that was when he sat up in shock, hands reaching for the two body appendages he had seen weeks before. He gave a cry of amazement, or _would_ have, until he realised with a jolt of sadness that he had had to give up his voice. His hands clasped at his throat and Harry tried to make a sound, but to no avail. He sighed – at least he could do that – but he couldn't form any words at all.

Well. The magic had granted him legs in exchange for his voice. Now he had to promise never to reveal his identity to anyone, or else he would lose his legs where he stood and they would be replaced by fins. With a sad smile, he also noticed that he was clothed, _wet,_ yes, but clothed. Pants, 'soks', 'shoos', the whole lot. He made a discontent sound when he realised that the feeling of wet socks against his feet were _very_ uncomfortable. In fact, wet clothing altogether was an unpleasant feeling. He _would_ have stripped himself, but managed to stop himself at the last minute.

Humans _had_ to wear clothes. Dumbledore had warned him against going bare _anywhere_. Harry sighed and stood on shaky feet. At least he could walk. He staggered around the beach for a few minutes, getting accustomed to having to balance his body. After trudging through the sand, he saw some sandy steps leading up to the street above. Harry made his way up the stairs, hands grasping tight to the handrails as he pulled himself up.

The sudden approach of a _fast_ contraption zooming by startled Harry so much, that he let go of the rails and fled in the opposite direction, colliding hard against a firmly muscled body. His legs shook as the man held his arms steady, irritated yet concerned eyes staring into his own.

"Are you okay?"

Harry stared at the man in shock, recognising that blond hair and face, but those slate-grey eyes were beautiful from the moment they had locked onto Harry's impossibly green. The man repeated his question, his face betraying his disgust when he realised that Harry was still dripping wet and that the front of his shirt was now plastered against his toned stomach.

Harry nodded dumbly, watching as the man let go of his arms and shifted the plastic bags in his arms. "Well then, don't just stand there or run into people. If it was an accident, you have to apologise."

Harry opened his mouth, but was unable to make a sound. Interpreting Harry's inability to say sorry as either shock or arrogance, the man huffed and pushed Harry aside. "Fine. And good riddance."

The man shook his head in disbelief as he carried on in the direction he had been heading, leaving Harry to gape after him. Once the man had disappeared over the hill, Harry turned back, only to have nearly another heart attack when two more speed contraptions noisily came around the corner and raced off again. Holding a hand against his chest, Harry began to meander off in the direction the man ahd come from. He held a hand against his chest and began to meander off in the direction the man had come from.

Harry didn't know how much time had passed but it was swiftly getting darker and darker. Humans weren't very nice creatures – they tended to give Harry strange looks and gave him wide breadth of space when he was walking, but aside from that, they ignored him. Plus, his feet hurt. He sighed as he leaned against a street guardrail, pulling off one of his 'shoos' to rub at his sore feet. He didn't understand why humans wanted to have feet! Honestly, having a mer-tail was infinitely better!

It took Harry a moment to realise that he had no idea where he was, or what he would do to survive when he came ashore. How stupid and foolhardy this idea had been! He should have followed the man, but perhaps that man may have gotten the wrong message if Harry were to follow him around...

Plus, it seemed that humans like to walk in swarms, which complicated things a little as he was hustled and bustled about when there was no room for people to make room. In addition to that, the place he had ended up in, a _city,_ he remembered learning at the palace, was_ full _of speeding contraptions that had Harry jumping out of his skin when he saw the traffic that lined the streets.

Sighing to himself, he sat down on a nearby bench and looked around. The sunlight had provided enough warmth to dry his clothes in the day, but now that it was setting, he could feel the chill of the night set in and rubbed his arms in an attempt to stay warm.

With another cursory glance, Harry recognised the man from earlier walking amidst the crowd on the opposite side of the street. Hoping the man would recognise him, Harry teetered and tottered onto the kerb and stepped into the street. But being unable to judge the depth between the bitumen and the pavement, Harry toppled over into the path of an oncoming car.

He heard a woman's shrill cry of terror almost too late, registering the screech of wheels, and burnt rubber against tarmac. Shutting his eyes, he anticipated the pain of impact, but when none happened, he opened his eyes and shakily got to his feet. He could hear a man's angry voice screaming at him, calling him a 'dumbass' and to not wander into the street. Heart pounding in his ears, he looked up again to see the man on the other side of the street, staring back curiously. The traffic had stopped around him and he quickly made his way across the road.

Harry stared up at the man, who quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"You again."

Harry blinked and smiled to show he had understood the man. He sighed and grasped Harry's upper arm and pulled him along, away from any onlookers who were still chattering about Harry's near accident. "Is there something you want from me?" the man asked softly, his gentle belied by the firm, almost painful, grip he had on Harry's arm.

Harry opened his mouth, having forgotten that he was unable to speak. When no sound came out, the other man made a frustrated sound and let go of Harry's arm in annoyance. He turned to leave in a huff, but Harry reached out to grasp the back of the blond's shirt with a slender hand.

He turned swiftly, voice raised as he hissed, "Just say what you want to say, then leave!" Harry opened his mouth again, pointing to it, but the man misunderstood him for begging for food and turned away in disgust.

"Look, just stay off the pathways, okay mate? I don't have time to save the world. My own life is a mess as it is," the last part was muttered more to himself than to Harry, but the man turned around anyway and made a quick escape. Harry could only stare after him as he left. Well, there was nothing for it. Harry had to find his way back to the shore where he had arrived and get back home. He realised, belatedly, that this was a bad idea from the start.

The man was already far away by the time Harry made it to the beach. He wandered into the water, lip curling as he felt the strong waves knock against legs, forcing him onto his knees. He closed his eyes and waited for the magic to happen, to bring him back.

Harry opened his eyes when he realised that nothing was happening. Scanning the surface of the rippling water, he saw a sliver of a reflection. Feeling a cold chill swim down his spine, his head snapped towards the sky and saw the waning gibbous moon. He'd just missed it. But of _course!_ Dumbledore had sent him to the Surface on the night of a full moon, meaning that he would have to wait yet another month before he could return home. New moons were not as powerful as the full moons, but the activity of sea creatures usually rose around these times. That was why the gateway between the two worlds was opened.

And if the situation could get any worse, he felt the telltale droplet of rain on his forehead. Within minutes, the rainfall had picked up speed and he was nearly dragged underwater by the force of it with the tides. Crawling towards the shore, Harry bumped into two solid legs and glanced up when he felt no rain above him.

_The blond man_, Harry realised, _he is holding another human invention, one that prevents rain._ The man stared down at Harry blankly and shook his head. "You. Again. You're really something, you know."

He huffed as he pulled Harry up by the scruff of his shirt and wrapped a strong arm around an alarmingly thin waist (to keep the waifish boy warm, the blond told himself). "C'mon, you can come home with me," he said gruffly, "I'm Draco. What's your name?" Harry opened his mouth and pointed to it once again, then pointed to his throat.

Draco stared at him for a moment before it finally, _finally_ sunk in. "You can't speak?" Harry nodded his head excitedly, glad that Draco had finally understood him. Perhaps the man had been too irritated to deal with Harry before.

Regardless, he was in safe hands now. "Then, I suppose I'll have to apologise for my rude behaviour earlier. Let's get to shelter, and we can get to know each other after you've had a warm shower."

Harry could only wonder what 'shelter' and a 'shower' meant. Perhaps it was where Draco lived, and a shower was some sort of food. Harry's stomach gave an answering grumble, to which Draco smirked. "You're hungry. Well then, you're in luck. It just so happens that I'm a great chef, so I'll whip up something for you when we get back, okay?"

Harry nodded and huddled closer to Draco, his feet slightly unsteady with every step they took towards the stairs. They climbed it slowly, Draco seeming to understand that Harry was weakened from lack of food, and the cold and wet. It was a ten minute walk before they finally made it to 'home', according to Draco. Harry realised that this was Draco's palace, where he lived. Smiling to himself, Draco ushered Harry into the entrance hallway, which was spacious and airy.

Regardless, the temperature inside Draco's palace was a lot warmer than outside, Harry noted. Harry also noticed that there seemed to be a loud murmuring of human voices nearby. Draco sat Harry down in a comfortable chair and told him to wait there for a while. "Stay here, I'll be back in a moment with some towels."

---

Draco could feel a headache coming on. The restaurant was as busy as ever, but for some reason, they didn't seem to be making as much money as usual. Prices were rising, and not only that, but Draco had had to go out and buy more groceries that only he could get a special discount on. Not to mention that weird guy that he kept running into everywhere...

'_Why, again, did I bring him home with me?!_' Frowning, Draco made his way through the kitchen, noting that the pile of dishes seemed to be growing and growing, while Hermione was busy pacing herself through four dishes simultaneously. And where the bloody hell was Astoria?

Through the kitchen and into the restaurant, his eyes narrowed when he saw the fair-haired girl sitting by a group of older men, smiling and twirling a lock of her hair coyly around her finger. Walking up to them, he cleared his throat and glared at her pointedly.

"If you have enough time to stop and chat, then you have time to clean the dishes. Go on. You need to give Hermione a break from cooking once in a while as well," Draco ordered with a scowl. He wasn't clueless as to what Astoria's goal was. She knew about their money problem and planned to lure these men into her bed and sleep with them for additional income. Because she was so beautiful, sometimes men would also give her expensive gifts. Draco would not have any of it.

He gave the irritated men a strained smile and apologised, "I'm sorry, but she is one of my staff members, and as such, is currently on duty. Is there anything I can get for you?"

The three men all stood up and, without another word, promptly left the restaurant. Draco sighed, ignoring the concerned customers around him. He made a swift departure, remembering his 'guest' that was still waiting in the entrance hall. He quickly took a large towel from the linen closet and jogged back to where the young man sat, in the same position Draco had left him.

"Here you go," Draco handed him the towel. "I'll show you to the bathroom, where you can get cleaned up. Come back down here for dinner, okay?"

---

Draco led Harry up some stairs, to a narrow hallway where there were four doors. Draco indicated to each one of them, "This is Astoria's room. You should never go in there. My room, likewise. This is our guestroom, where you can stay for tonight, and finally, the bathroom," Draco paused to open the door for Harry, revealing a bathroom that was decorated mostly in blue tiles with white walls. There was a bathtub, a shower and a sink, plus another sliding door that led to the 'toilet'.

"I'll leave you to it then," Draco quirked his lips in what would probably be a small smile, and then left quickly to go downstairs. Harry blinked after him then stepped into an area with a silver-covered hole in the middle of it. There was a long, snake-like tube hanging on the wall, attached to a spout that was dripping water. Harry knew that humans didn't require clothes when they bathed, so he gingerly peeled off the wet clothing and left them on the sink.

He stared at the spout for a moment, then tentatively touched a lever that protruded from the wall. Nothing happened. Harry pulled it and nearly jumped out of his skin when a jet of hot water blasted from the spout onto his chest. He opened his mouth in a soundless cry and jumped back, startled. He watched as steam rose from the hot water and tilted his head to the side, confused as to how such a thing worked.

Harry twisted the handle to the other side and realised that the water came out noticeably cooler. He stuck his hand into it, a little cold, but nothing he wasn't already used to. Harry stepped under the spout and let the water run over his head. Curious as to how water came out of a spout in the wall, Harry peered up into it, seeing the tiny little holes that produced the water. _How fascinating!_

Once he'd amused himself enough with the shower, Harry took the towel Draco had given him and wrapped himself up in it. Remembering that the blond had told him to come down to dinner, Harry soundlessly made his way downstairs, wobbling slightly on his feet.

He had almost made it to where the 'kitchen' was, when he heard a loud scream and then felt something hit the back of his head rather painfully. He winced, and blinked back the pearls, and turned to see a red-faced human glaring at him.

"Who-who are you? How did you get in here?! Why aren't you wearing clothes?!" she shrieked, "Draco! DRACO!"

Said man rushed into the entrance hall and his face reddened when he saw a startled Harry standing in nothing but a towel, and a blushing Astoria yelling for the entire world to hear. "Astoria, shut up and go help close up the restaurant. You don't need to scream like a banshee, for fucks sake," Draco snarled, grabbing Harry's arm and pulling him back upstairs.

"Sorry about that. I forgot to give you clothes," Draco said, rather softly as he finally let go of Harry's arm, "I'll lend you my pyjamas, since it's night time already."

Harry followed Draco into one of the rooms – Draco's bedroom – and waited patiently at the door while the blond disappeared into his wardrobe. He returned moments later with a bundle of clothing that felt soft and was covered from top to bottom in navy green and blue stripes. There was also a pile of undergarments for him to wear. Draco sent him off to the en suite bathroom while he went to collect Harry's clothes and put them in the laundry hamper.

Harry wondered at the making of such clothes. They felt different to the ones that Dumbledore had gifted him with. He put the boxers on first, knowing that they were worn under the clothes, followed by a pair of sleep pants that were far too big, pooling at his feet. He slipped on the un-buttoned shirt, which fell to mid-thigh. Shuffling across the room, he met Draco in the hallway.

The blond man blinked at him, and appraised Harry from top to bottom. Then the man flushed and turned away quickly. "Come. Let's get you something to eat. You must be starved."

They made their way downstairs, back to the kitchen, where Harry saw a small table that was set with various amounts of food. "Sorry that they're leftovers," Draco said, as he pulled out a chair for Harry and gestured to each plate. "We have a great variety of seafood..." he trailed off at the look of abject horror on Harry's face, "...err, or if you don't like seafood," he motioned for Hermione to take the dishes away, "there is chicken, and beef, a lot of salad, fruits..."

Harry tentatively tried the chicken and the beef, but decided he didn't like those either. He ate a lot of the vegetables though, and loved the fruit. "Hmm, you must be some sort of vegetarian then," Draco mused out-loud, laughing when he saw Harry smile at him with an orange skin stuck over his teeth, "Brat. Finish up and leave the dishes. Astoria will take care of them."

"Hey!"

"You deserve it, for wasting time like that with your useless prostitution."

"Don't say that in front of your guest!" Astoria exclaimed, her face growing hot.

"I don't think he understands what prostitution means, idiot," Draco retorted coolly, turning his back on the fuming girl. '_Actually, that is something I do understand,_' Harry thought, his face tinging a slight pink. He ate his fruit as quickly as possible, smiling when the other lady – the one with bushy, brown hair tied up in a '_fishing?'_ net – gave him a glass of water, which he gratefully drank down. There was something strange about relying solely on air. Humans were so strange.

"Why is he staying here, anyway?" Astoria huffed from where she was washing some pots. She looked over her shoulder at the raven-haired boy who was tentatively chewing on a slice of watermelon.

"He can't speak. I don't think he's even got a place to go. I couldn't just leave him out on the beach, in the rain," Draco explained as he wiped down the counters.

"Another stray, then?" Hermione shot him a teasing smile, while Draco glared and Astoria seemed to tense.

"He's my guest, not something I just picked up off the streets," Draco sniffed as he placed the dirty rag near the sink and peeked out into the restaurant area. "Everyone's gone home, then?"

"Yeah. It's just us, now," Hermione smiled as she turned to see that Harry was done eating, before taking the empty plates to the sink where Astoria just groaned louder. "Well, I had best be off. I'll see you two on Monday. Bye!" The woman removed her apron, hanged it up behind the door, picked up her bag from the closet and left. It was usually just Draco and Astoria on the weekends, when business was a lot calmer.

There was a long period of silence, where Astoria cleaned the dishes and handed them to Draco to dry and put away. "Of all the times for the stupid dishwasher to break," Astoria grumbled, shoving another wet plate in Draco's direction. The blond barely had time to catch it, shooting a dark look at the resentful girl. Finally, the last plate was handed to Draco to dry. The girl threw down her sponge, took off her rubber gloves and threw them down beside the sink.

"I'm going to bed. Good_night_," she growled, storming out of the kitchen. Draco winced when the door slammed shut behind her.

Harry stared after her, gnawing on his bottom lip. Upon seeing the worried expression on Harry's face, Draco smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about her. She's just a leech. But I could use a little help around here, so she earns her keep by doing the dishes and stuff. Say, what's your name?"

Harry blinked and then pointed to his mouth and shook his head. The blond remembered that Harry couldn't talk and rushed into the next room, coming back moments later with a pad of papers and a pen. He handed them to Harry, who wrote his name down with steady penmanship.

"_Harry_," Draco read his name out loud. "Just 'Harry'? That's it?"

Harry nodded eagerly, not wanting to say his surname in case the blond would somehow recognise him and throw him back into the sea.

"Well, okay, Harry. Time for bed," Draco made sure to switch off all the appliances and then turned off the light behind him. Hermione would always lock the restaurant from the other side, so there were no worries there. Draco led him back upstairs, to the spare guestroom.

"Here you go. Have a goodnight. Breakfast is at eight, so be down in the kitchen at that time. Goodnight."

Draco closed the door behind him as he left Harry's room and made his way to bed. Harry, on the other hand, stared at the closed door for a few moments before hugging the notepad and pen to his chest. If he could make any sound, he would probably be squealing right now. He had finally met _him_. Draco. The man he had saved from the water.

Harry placed the notebook on the bedside table and then crawled into bed, drawing the covers up to his chin. Within a few moments, he was sound asleep.

---

The next morning, a Saturday, brought sunshine and cool weather upon the restaurant. Harry was glad that it wasn't raining – it seemed to cause a lot of troubles for Draco. Harry made his way downstairs to see Astoria and Draco arguing in the kitchen.

"It's too early for your banshee screaming. Go chop some onions," Draco ordered, pointing at a meat cleaver and a sack of brown bulbs. The girl stuck her tongue out at him and whirled off to finish the task. Draco turned to see Harry shuffle into the kitchen timidly.

"Hey, Harry," he greeted, eyes lighting up at the sight of the bedraggled figure,"I figured you'd feel bad about leeching food from us, so you can earn your keep by working here as well."

The blond man directed Harry to the counter where Astoria was clumsily chopping onions. "Here you go," handing Harry a rather sharp looking knife, Draco left them to it. "I'll need those chopped onions soon, so you'd better not get distracted!"

Harry nodded, determined that he would help Draco out as much as he could. He watched as Astoria cleaved an onion in half, and then set it down to slice. Without further instruction, Harry began to follow as she did, deftly chopping the onion into slices without a problem.

"You're really good at that," Astoria murmured from beside him. Harry glanced up and gave her a shy smile. "Here you go," she shoved the rest of the onions in his direction, and then made her way out of the door, "Smoke break."

Harry frowned at her retreating back, glancing back to where Draco was preparing some ingredients. Harry continued to chop the onions without complaint until he realised one problem – they were making him cry. He didn't know what it was, but he could feel the pearls welling up and was unable to stop them from leaking out. They tinkled softly to the edge of the chopping board. He quickly finished slicing the onions and ran to the sink to wash his face.

"Astoria! Where are my onions?!"

The girl rushed back into the room before Draco could even turn around, too busy with his ingredients. "Here they are!" she grabbed the bowl that Harry had finished and was about to take them to Draco when she noticed a few pearly, white beads scattered over the countertop. She picked one up out of curiosity. "Pearls?"

"ASTORIA!"

"COMING!" she shouted back, tossing the pearls to the floor, "Nah, they couldn't be."

Harry straightened from where he had finished rinsing his hands and face. '_Wow... that actually hurt my eyes a lot!_'

---

Draco had finally closed the store for the day, since they finished at noon, and was putting away some of the clean dishtowels, when he noticed a small, plastic packet filled with what appeared to be... "Pearls...? No way... _Astoria_!"

The girl rushed into the kitchen, Harry in tow. After spending the day together, they seemed to get along well. Harry was a good listener, and Astoria... well, she was a good talker. She could talk a person's head off, if she really tried.

Draco strode up to the girl and the next thing Harry knew, she was clutching her face in pain, a red welt in the shape of Draco's palm blooming on her cheek. "Where the fuck did you get this?"

"I didn't! I didn't buy it, I promise!"

"Bullshit!" Draco slapped her again. "How the fuck did you get your hands on these pearls?!"

"A... a customer gave them to me," she sobbed, tears trickling from her eyes as she clutched her pained cheek. Draco was so infuriated and he snatched up her arm tightly, clutching her in a grip that would probably bruise later.

"How many times have I told you to give that shit up? I don't need you to sell yourself for money. We're doing fine as we are!" Draco shouted, eyes flashing furiously.

"Like hell we are!" Astoria screamed back, "Don't you get it? The business is dying, you can barely keep up with the rent as it is. We're barely making any profit, Draco! I'm NOT going to just sit back and let you earn income on your own."

"You stupid girl! I'm working for the both of us. I'm working so that you don't have to!"

"Oh lay off! You're not my father, Draco. It's not your duty to look after me, so just leave me the fuck alone!" she screamed, pushing him away and storming out of the room. Draco stared after her before he threw the packet of pearls to the side and collapsed to the floor in a heap.

Harry was torn between following Astoria and going to Draco, but seeing the man look so defeated pained him so. He scrambled to where Draco was kneeling and hesitantly put an arm around his slumped shoulders.

"I don't get it..." Draco whispered almost brokenly after a moment of silence, "How... how did it come to this? I don't even remember when it got so bad..."

Harry shook his head and held Draco to him, trying to comfort him as much as he possibly could. He let Draco rest his head against his shoulder for a while longer. "I just... I just want to take care of her..."

Harry watched as the man broke down, an unexplainable feeling whirling in his chest. '_Why... why would he tell me something like that? Being able to speak doesn't mean one should speak at all...'_

Draco finally pulled away and staggered upstairs without another word. Harry watched him go, heart aching in his chest.

'_Humans are so strange...'_

---

Harry was sitting at the steps by the beach when he heard footsteps behind him. "That's my seat," Astoria said gruffly, plopping down beside him on the sandy steps.

Harry blinked at her then gave her shy smile, which she returned, although it looked rather strained. She pulled out a carton of cigarettes and offered one to Harry, "Smoke?" which he rejected. They sat in silence, watching the waves crash against the shore for a few minutes until Astoria finished her cigarette and tossed it into the sand.

"Did you know," she began, breathing in the salty ocean wind, before turning to smile at Harry, "that you are Draco's type? Pretty, and calm... and doesn't talk back."

Harry didn't know if he should be offended that she was calling him pretty, but she gave him another weak smile and then turned back to the sea. "I used to be that way. My parents practically raised me to be a lady. I hated it, so I ran away. I ran to Draco..." she put her head between her arms and crystalline tears trickled slowly down her cheeks. "But he hates me now. He can't stand me. All I wanted to do was help him out," her breath hitched and Harry was unsure if he should give her a hug or not, "but the harder I tried, the further I seemed to push him away."

Harry could feel pearls welling up again and quickly blinked them away before Astoria saw them – they were what got her into trouble in the first place. "I'm useless. I don't have a high-school degree. I ran away before I could finish. I can barely cook, I'm lousy at cleaning and I've got a horrible attitude to boot. I'm useless."

Harry shook his head, but realised that she couldn't see him. So he took out his notepad and scrawled, '**I think you're pretty**' on it, holding it up for her to see. She glanced up when he tapped her shoulder and she gave him a watery smile.

"Thanks, Harry," she laughed softly, "But you're not my type."

He blushed at her words, and then wrote, '**Draco thinks you're pretty, too**.'

"Pretty annoying," she scoffed, gazing at the wide expanse of sand and sea. Harry barely managed to hold back an exasperated sigh. Then she turned to him, and offered the first genuine smile he had seen. "Do you really think so?"

Harry nodded.

"Really, really think so?"

He nodded again. Astoria reached for the notepad and ripped out the page, before folding it and holding it up. "I'm going to keep this, if it's alright with you."

Harry nodded again. It wasn't of any use to him, really. Humans were _weird_! In his peripheral vision, he saw Astoria pocket the paper and then stand. "Let's head back." He nodded and stood as well. Harry glanced out to sea, the sun already beginning to set.

'_Home... I can't go home yet. Not until I see Draco finally happy. I won't go._'

It was with sorrow that Harry realised he only had half a month left with Draco, before the next full moon came back again.

* * *

**Rice-Ball247: **I know it's a little different. But I've written 'Android', which was robot!Draco/human!Harry, so I hope that human!Draco/merman!Harry will be well-received as well.

**Note: **It suddenly occurred to me that not everyone reads Japanese Lore, so here's a bit of it for you. Some **Japanese myths believe that mermaids will cry pearls**, rather than tears. This is very important to note for the rest of the fic.

If you enjoyed it and would like to see more, please review.


	2. His Pearls

**One Thousand Pearls**

By Rice-Ball247

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. They are the work of J.K. Rowling and I make no profit. This story was based off the manga 'Mister Mermaid' by Setona Mizushiro, which in turn, was based off the classic, 'The Little Mermaid', which I'm sure most of you are familiar with.

**Warning: **slash (boy x boy) and het (boy x girl), nothing graphic, mermen/maids, OOC, AU.

**Thanks to: _Maurauders-And-Lily-I-Love_**, for her excellent work in beta-ing chapter two. Much appreciated!

Hope you enjoy!

**EDIT: **I don't know what's wrong with FF.N but it's doing that thing again, where it **joins words together** without my knowledge. I've just found two. If you find any more, please tell me so I can fix it! This is becoming very annoying!

* * *

**Chapter Two: His Pearls**

Unfortunately, time seemed to fly by in the Land of Man. Two weeks had passed in the blink of an eye,and Draco and Astoria seemed to be fighting more than ever. He had tried everything, from eating at different times so that they could be alone together, to taking on more house work so that Astoria could spend more time with Draco, but all it seemed to do was make the situation worse.

It appeared that the more time Astoria spent in Draco's presence, the more likely they would end the day on a rather painful (and loud) note. Nothing was helping!

Harry took a deep breath of the ocean air. He frequently missed the water, and got homesick often, but he wasn't planning on going home. Dumbledore gave him a month, but he could only be summoned by someone, and Harry wasn't going to summon him until the right time came. Currently, he was standing over the cliff-face, looking outwards toward the sea.

"Planning on committing suicide?"

Harry jumped, because he didn't hear Draco approaching at all, whipping around to see Draco standing behind him, a bag of groceries in each hand. Harry rushed to grab one out of his hands, trying to be helpful. Then Draco's question registered in his still slightly surprised brain and he shook his messy-haired head rapidly.

"Heh. I guess not. You're not like me."

Harry blinked at the solemn tone that Draco had taken on, watching the blond as he began to speak again. "It was a little more than two months ago... when I met Astoria again for the first time in years," Draco gave the sea a sad smile and that, more than anything, pained Harry to see it. "She was, still is, beautiful. I was on my way home, when I met her. She was still in high school. She was so clean, so pure. There wasn't a thing that was filthy about her.

I was so scared... so scared of ruining that beauty. I didn't want to spoil her, to be like me..." his expression darkened considerably and Harry took a subconscious step backward. "But then I found out that she was selling herself. And then, it felt like I had just lost the one thing I was meant to protect." Draco's expression changed again. It wasn't sad... more like he was lost. Harry certainly felt the same. "I couldn't take it anymore. I came here, right at this spot. And I jumped."

Harry could hear the blood pounding in his ears at Draco's admission. If he could speak, he would have told Draco that it was enough, that he didn't need to hear anymore. But Draco continued.

"I attempted suicide that day. I would have died. But someone saved me," Draco gave Harry a bitter chuckle as he stared down the cliff-face, into the ocean. "I guess there really is a 'God' out there, somewhere."

'_No... not really,'_ Harry thought.

"I believe that this is the God who is watching over Astoria. Looking out for her. I'm the only one she's got left. She told me she had nowhere to go, so if I had died that day... she would have been left all alone."

Harry waited patiently until Draco finally stood up straight and turned back towards the house. "Well, that's enough from me. What you just heard is a secret, so don't go telling anyone, okay? If anyone asks, just say it was an accident!" Draco flashed him a small smile, a clear warning evident in his silver eyes, and then waited until Harry caught up to him so that they could walk back to the restaurant together.

Harry remained completely silent.

'_The reason why I didn't speak, was not because I couldn't...'_ he ran his finger across the spine of his notepad, tucked safely in his pocket, '_it's because since that day when I first met you, I haven't spoken a word about how much I--"_

---

"It's a full moon today," Astoria mused as she packed away some cutlery. Harry was wiping down the bread and butter plates, storing them in the shelf beside the front desk. She didn't expect a reply from Harry, so she continued to work in silence.

At that moment, the door to the restaurant opened and a tall, well-built form stepped through. Astoria's mouth dropped open as her eyes roved over the muscular figure. He was as gorgeous as Draco, but his features seemed a lot younger, with fiery red hair that fell messily into sea-blue eyes.

She flushed as she said, "Sorry, we're closed at the moment--" but was cut off when the man merely walked behind the counter, grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him rather unceremoniously towards the door. The plate he was holding crashed to the floor, smashing to pieces. "H-hey! Hey, come back! Harry! Draco, someone's taking Harry away!"

But by the time Draco had managed to hurry downstairs, panicked and out of breath,the stranger and Harry had disappeared completely.

---

"Why didn't you return home? Do you know how worried the King and Queen are? The entire palace has been in uproar for weeks!" Ron yelled, as they stood shin-deep within the water. The glowing full moon was visible, high above Ron's head while Harry was scolded by his best friend.

"How did you find me?" Harry asked softly as he stared directly into Ron's eyes. It felt weird to hear his own voice again. It was a relief to talk again, though. His lack of speech was quite trying; it always took so long to respond because of writing.

"I know because I've been searching frantically for you. I even summoned Dumbledore. But you know he can only be summoned once a cycle. So he's gone. Now is your only chance to come back before the next full moon, so let's go," Ron snapped, tugging Harry's hand and pulling them so that they were now waist deep in the water.

No matter how hard Harry protested, Ron was a lot stronger than he was, so he was dragged down with him. "Stop!"

"No! Don't you get how dangerous this is? I asked Dumbledore where you went, and he said you'd gone to the Land of Man, to see your _lover!_" Ron yelled, tightening his grip on Harry's wrist.

"Lover?!" Harry squawked in disbelief. Ron huffed and carded a hand through his blazing-red locks.

"Fine, _unrequited_ lover. It doesn't matter. Let's just get you back to the palace and--"

"I'm not going with you!" Harry interrupted sharply, attempting to shake Ron away from him.

"You came to see him, right?" Harry could see that Ron was trying to keep calm, but he was rapidly losing his patience. "You came, you saw, it's time to go."

"Wait!" Harry cried as Ron pulled them into the depths, the water already washing over their shoulders. "I can't just leave so suddenly!"

"What do you mean, so suddenly?!" Ron finally cracked when they were submerged underwater, the little schools of fish swimming around them to avoid the angered merman. "How do you think I've felt, having to wait so long for the full moon?!"

Harry was taken aback when Ron suddenly held him to his chest in a tight grip. "Ron, I'm serious. Let me go." But Ron wasn't listening. He pulled away and began to drag Harry further down into the deep. Just a few more metres and they'd be within transformation range. "LET ME GO!"

"I'M NOT LETTING YOU GO!" Ron roared back, twisting gracefully in the water to glare fiercely at his prince. "You need to stay away from the Land of Man! That's why it's forbidden for you to go there! You are the only heir to the throne! You can't survive there!"

"I belong there now! Not here! I'm not coming back until--"

"Is it because you're in love with her?!" Ron hissed, his tone mocking in reference to Astoria.

Harry started, "Astoria?! No! I'm not leaving Draco behind."

"Oh, so it's that blond guy that you saved, is that it?" Ron snarled, eyes flashing dangerously as his grip grew more and more painful. "Stay away from them. They are selfish monsters!"

"Why are you saying this? I thought you were just as fascinated as I was about them!"

"Not if they're going to take you away!" Ron screamed, "You don't understand! When mermen love, their love is deep. Humans are fickle and selfish! They will take advantage of your love! You will only be hurt!"

"I'm not going," Harry repeated stubbornly, piercing emerald eyes staring at Ron defiantly. "I'm staying with Draco. You can't make me."

"I ___will_ make you, Harry! Stop wishing for a love that will never happen!"

"If you try to force me, _I will hate you forever!_" Harry screamed, pushing Ron away from him with as much strength as he could muster. The older boy let go, shock plastered all over his face, and Harry was swept away in a sudden rip, glad, for the first time, to be caught in one if it meant he would be taken away from Ron, as far as possible.

Harry blanked out for a moment – the tides had been strong and had knocked him about for a few minutes – but by the time he had surfaced, he had regained consciousness and was a few feet away from the stairs that would take him to the street and back to the restaurant.

On shaking legs, he stood, wincing when he felt blood seep from a gash on his arm. He held the throbbing, jarring cut and pressed it against his chest. It had never stung like this before, when put in water. But after being exposed to air, the pain was unbearable. He gritted his teeth and began the ascent home.

When he got to the door, it was thrown open by an anxious Astoria who stood watching by the window. Draco had just hung up from the phone and took in Harry's appearance with a mixture of anger and relief. He strode over to Harry and embraced him tightly, not noticing the look of hurt on Astoria's face.

"I can't believe it," the blond breathed, not at all bothered by the fact that his front was now completely drenched, "What happened?"

But Harry simply shrugged and pulled out his ruined notebook, which was completely soaked. It was then that they noticed the jagged cut. "You're hurt, Harry!" Astoria exclaimed, pulling Harry towards the kitchen where she could get the first-aid kit. Before they could do anything, however, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Who could it be at this hour?" Draco mused out loud as he made his way to the door. The knock came again, faster, louder, until Draco yanked it open with a grunt of annoyance and started when a tall, lithe woman pushed it open further and stormed in like she owned the place.

For a second, Harry thought she was Astoria, except older. She had the same white-blond hair, pulled back tightly in a bun, and blue-gray eyes. Heck, she could have been Draco's mother, for all he knew!

"Mother!" Astoria exclaimed. Well, that explained it.

The woman's lip curled into a thin line – she was extremely displeased. The woman crossed the room in three long steps and slapped Astoria clean across the face.

"Hey!" Draco shouted, but was unable to grab Astoria because of the two beefy men – bodyguards, Harry realised – that blocked the way. "Astoria!" but his calls were futile as the men dragged their friend towards the door. They stopped, however, on the woman's command.

"I apologise for disturbing you so late, Mr. Malfoy. It took us a while to track her down. I'm sorry for any inconvenience she has caused you. Let's go."

She turned, about to leave, but Astoria continued to scream, "No! I'm not going back there! That's not my home anymore! I belong here! I belong here!"

Harry was shocked at how familiar the words were, but really, he shouldn't have been so surprised. He had been screaming the exact same words back at Ron, only an hour ago. "Wait!" Draco called out. The woman paused, and then gestured for another man to bring forth a silver attaché case.

"Here," she thrust the case into Draco's hands. He stared at it in disbelief, and then back at the woman. "Consolation money, for all this time that she has troubled you."

Draco's hands shook as he opened the case and then closed it, still unlocked, breathing deep, "I don't want your money!"

"Take it, because that is all I will offer you in return for my daughter."

"You don't need to give me money, in order for me to leave her alone. I did not kidnap her, nor am I holding her ransom. She came of her own accord," Draco spoke monotonously, but his eyes were shadowed as Harry watched Astoria still in disbelief. Her eyes were hurt, shining with tears of betrayal. "Please, take her home."

"Then keep the money, to compensate for her troubling you."

"No! No! Draco, don't let her take me away! I don't want to leave! Please, _Draco!_"

"Quiet, Astoria! Don't you realise how much of a burden you've been to Mr. Malfoy? We're leaving at once. Let's go," her command was final as she walked back to the car. The guards grunted and dragged Astoria into the limousine, kicking and screaming for Draco to _"__**help me goddamn it**_!"

The door slammed shut behind them and Harry listened as they drove away. Harry made to follow, but Draco ordered him to stay put. "Don't. I don't want to taint her anymore. She deserves a chance to live that life, to be pure again, don't you think?"

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Harry was afraid to even approach Draco's immobile figure. In a sudden blur of movement, Draco stormed the room, flung the balcony doors open and threw the case out to sea. Harry watched as it burst open and a flurry of one-hundred pound banknotes scattered across the cliff, into the sea.

Draco slumped over, hands held tight on the rails as he broke down into quiet sobs. A miserable expression stole across Harry's face while he approached Draco from behind and silently slipped his arms under Draco's, crossing them at his chest and pressing his forehead into his back. For the first time, he cursed his merman-linage.

He felt that tears would have been a far more appropriate action at this time, than pearls.

In all the commotion, Draco seemed to have forgotten about Harry's arm. Luckily he had, for he would have been suspicious at the flawless skin in the place of a jagged cut that should have scarred.

---

A week passed and no questions were asked. Hermione had made that mistake the day after Astoria had been taken away and Draco had closed the restaurant early and ordered her to go home, saying that she would be paid for her troubles. Hermione didn't bring up the subject again.

It was now morning and Harry and Draco were having breakfast together in the kitchen. Without realising it, Harry's emerald eyes strayed up towards Draco's face for the fifth time in the span of two minutes. The man noticed his gaze and offered him a slice of toast. Harry declined with a small shake of his head, and then took the dirty dishes to wash them.

Since it was Sunday, the restaurant wasn't open, so it was just Draco and Harry alone at the restaurant. They took the time to catch up on chores that they had fallen behind in due to Astoria's absence. Draco was sweeping the floors when he heard a loud crash from the vicinity of the kitchen. He dropped his broom and rushed in, to see a broken glass on the floor by Harry's foot. The boy in question was on the floor, ignoring the pain in his foot to pick up the glass shards.

"Don't pick it up with your bare hands, idiot! Let me deal with that after we clean up your foot."

Draco helped Harry to stand and sat him down on one of the chairs around the kitchen table. He knelt down before Harry, who couldn't help but blush at the scene he was envisioning in his head. "Strange..." he heard Draco murmur. "You must have weak bones in your feet or something, because there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it from what I can see."

Draco turned Harry's slender foot in his hands, running a finger over the delicate arch. Harry jolted at the ticklish sensation, which caused Draco to laugh. Harry thought, '_Perhaps this is happiness... seeing Draco laugh like this...'_

But no... There was something else – an emotion that Draco masked, even in his smiles, in his laughter. Harry could see that he wasn't happy, that he was pained, each and every day. And with every day that passed, a little piece of Harry died on the inside.

---

Time passed yet again, and Harry sat on Draco's windowsill, completely captivated by the small sliver of moon that could be seen. The night sky was clear, but the moon was slowly disappearing, a waning crescent that indicated a new moon would be upon them very soon. He let out a small, soundless breath, sure that Draco, who was reading on the bed, would not have noticed the melancholy expression which flashed briefly across his face.

"You know, you remind me of this story my mother would read to me as a child. About a Moon Maiden," Draco began nonchalantly, silently amused by the fact that Harry jumped at the sound of his voice. "Every new moon, a beautiful princess would grace the earth with her presence. It was the only time when the light of the moon didn't shine, but she would glow with an ethereal light."

Draco tucked the book he was reading into the bedside drawer as he stared at Harry intently. "Do you want to go home to the moon?"

Harry nearly froze when Draco began to ask his question, but shook his head when Draco finished. "Is moon watching a hobby of yours, then?"

Again, Harry shook his head.

Draco smirked at the innocent boy who sat on his windowsill, not dissimilar to a fae-like creature from the fairytale book his mother would read to him.

"Would you hate me if I kissed you?"

Harry shook his head, almost immediately, then froze when he realised what he had done. He backed away slowly as his face flushed with embarrassment. "Come here, Harry." The boy paused, and took a hesitant step forward, away from the window with the view of the moon and the ocean, away from 'home'.

Draco beckoned him again, when it looked like Harry would just turn and run. Taking another step forward, Harry ignored the piercing pain in his heavy heart. Draco sat back and allowed Harry to crawl onto the bed beside him.

He pulled Harry into the cradle of his arms, and kissed him, softly, sweetly. Draco's eyes were closed, Harry could see, and they were moving against his firmly closed lips. Draco then pulled away with a chuckle, "Harry, when someone kisses you, you need to close your eyes, and open your mouth a little. Like this," then, as soon as Harry's eyes fluttered to a close, Draco stole his lips once more.

This kiss was gentle at first, but slowly it blossomed into a firmer, more passionate kiss. Draco's tongue traced the seam of Harry's mouth, coaxing it open. Like his steps, Harry was tentative, scared. But he had nothing to fear, for this was Draco. For one night, he could be with Draco.

He felt Draco push him down onto the bed, felt Draco's body heat as the physical barriers of clothing were pushed away. Skin to skin, Harry's breath hitched as Draco licked and suckled at the soft flesh of his neck and collarbone. Harry almost wanted to giggle, but then Draco sat back and his eyes met Harry's.

For the rest of the night, Harry couldn't remember looking away from that molten-silver gaze. Like the moon, Draco's eyes were bright, a pale gray that reminded him of rain and ocean storms, fierce, and violent, but at the same time, protective.

As the heat surged over them like a wave, Harry closed his eyes and for once, he prayed that he would belong to Draco.

If only for one night.

---

When Draco awoke, he could hear the waves lapping at the cliff-face, brushing against the shore. Draco wriggled around on his bed for a moment, yawning and then frowning when he felt like something was missing.

He grasped at his bed sheets, and something felt strange beneath his palm. Blinking his eyes open blearily, he sat up and pulled off the bedcovers, shocked into silence as a thousand pearls tinkled gently to the floor.

---

Harry was in the kitchen, making coffee for both himself and Draco. He had out-cried himself last night. There didn't seem to be anymore pearls left for him to shed. He glanced up when he heard the kitchen doors opening and smiled weakly at Draco, who leaned against the doorjamb with an unreadable expression on his face. '_He probably wants to forget that last night ever happened..._' Harry thought sadly, as he turned back to the coffee machine.

He was startled out of his thoughts, then, when he felt strong arms encircle his waist. "Good morning," Draco greeted him, dropping a kiss on Harry's lips when he turned his head to the side. Harry felt a full-body blush coming on and he turned back to his coffee machine silently as it finished.

"I'll make us some breakfast. Thanks for the coffee, Harry," Draco said, turning away to start cooking. Harry watched him go, touching his lips with a fond gentleness. Draco seemed happy...

'_But even this fragile happiness can be swept away at any moment._'

* * *

**Rice-Ball247: **Hey, there's Chapter Two! One more to go! Please review!

On a completely irrelevant note, I made it into Uni. I'll be starting on the first of March, so... who knows. I hope I can balance myself enough lol, high school was hard enough for me (and that was already on a fixed time-table). Oh, and I applied for a job, so fingers crossed, but like I said, who knows. I'm growing up soon. Wonder what I'll do for my 18th...


	3. And His Tears

**One Thousand Pearls**

By Rice-Ball247

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or any affiliated characters. They are the work of J.K. Rowling and I make no profit. This story was based off the manga 'Mister Mermaid' by Setona Mizushiro, which in turn, was based off the classic, 'The Little Mermaid', which I'm sure most of you are familiar with.

**Warning: **slash (boy x boy) and het (boy x girl), nothing graphic, mermen/maids, OOC, AU.

**Thanks to: _Maurauders-And-Lily-I-Love_**, for being an amazing beta to this story. You've done me a great favour in correcting, advising and revising my work.

**Rice-Ball247: **This is the final chapter. I encourage you to please review and look forward to seeing you at later works and, most likely, a **sequel**.

* * *

**Chapter Three: And His Tears**

"_Young Prince, why do you summon me?"_

_Harry kept his gaze firmly on the great sorcerer, Albus Dumbledore, his eyes unblinking from the elderly man's steady sight._

"_I wish to go to the Land of Man. There is... someone I want to see."_

Harry zoned out as he gazed at Draco eating his breakfast, sipping the coffee that Harry had made for him. Emerald eyes trailed over the blond, taking in the aristocratic features of his face. He was drawn out of his thoughts when the blond man cleared his throat. "Ahh, Harry. This morning, in bed? There were all these pearls scattered around the sheets. I know it may seem like a stupid question, but are they yours?"

'_My tears…_' the thought flitted quickly through his head, before he pushed it away and shook his head quickly. Strangely, Draco's face twisted into an even more puzzled expression as he finished up his breakfast.

"I thought not. A bit bizarre, but okay."

Harry merely gave him a shy smile, to which Draco returned. His heart quickened at the sight of Harry's bright, iridescent eyes and quickly lifted his mug of coffee to hide the sudden suffusion of pink across his cheeks. Harry tilted his head adorably in question but didn't offer any comment, his notebook remaining in his pocket.

Once they had finished, Harry took the plates to the sink obediently and began to wash them by hand. He nearly dropped a plate in surprise when he felt Draco come up from behind him and snake his arms around his waist, his sharp chin resting in the junction between Harry's neck and shoulder.

"I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later, okay?" his voice was soft, gentle, and that fond tone made Harry's heart race a little faster.

Harry nodded and blushed when he felt Draco press a chaste kiss against his cheek. Draco pulled away and began to walk towards the door. Harry followed him, smiling and waving when Draco turned back once he'd reached the footpath.

"I'll be back soon!"

Harry took in the sight of his retreating back, of the strong, broad shoulders that seemed to carry an unfair burden. For a moment, Harry wondered if Draco had been cursed with a spell of loneliness. Perhaps...

---

"I'm back!" Draco sang as he waltzed through the front door, carrying a bottle of very expensive wine. Harry stared at the bright glee in his eyes, wondering if maybe perhaps _this_ was happiness. He certainly seemed like he had not a worry in the world to care for.

Harry questioned him with his eyebrows raised in curiosity, to which Draco took his hand and spun him across the floor haphazardly, eyes shining with childlike excitement. "Haha! Remember those pearls I asked you about this morning? I took them to a jeweller and had them appraised. They were worth a lot! He said they're of an extremely rare quality that hasn't been seen in years. So I figured we could treat ourselves tonight, and move out of this slum this week!

We can start anew, in the city, maybe. We have a lot of money now, thanks to these," he held up a small, red velvet pouch that still looked reasonably full. Harry wondered at the irony that was his life – the price of his tears had bought Draco money, happiness even. "We could start our own restaurant, maybe move to Paris! We'd have lots of business in Paris, wouldn't we?"

Harry could only smile and nod along with Draco, ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest.

---

The warm spray felt great against his skin, and Harry let out a content sigh as he relaxed under the weight of water from the shower. He was, for some unknown reason, still completely dressed and had left the door open, so he wasn't surprised when he saw Draco watching him from the doorway, his eyes betraying an odd emotion.

"You know, now that I think about it, you must really love the water," he said softly as he stepped into the bathroom. Stopping at the edge of the large shower, he watched as Harry turned back to the showerhead and held his face up to the water. In doing so, he missed the sorrowful expression that flitted briefly across Draco's face. Harry breathed in sharply when he felt Draco press against his back and gently kiss the nape of his neck.

He would have moaned if he could, and settled instead, for resting his head against Draco's shoulder. The kisses turned to small nips and sucks until he could feel Draco against him, panting, pushing him up against the shower wall.

"The night I met you," Draco whispered as Harry gazed up at him with hazy eyes, "I took you in, because you looked so sad. Like a Lunar Maiden, that had been abandoned by the moon."

Draco pressed his lips to Harry, and the boy was unsure if it was the water or Draco's tears that tasted slightly salty. "It's so strange," Draco murmured as he pulled away, his forehead against Harry's, "Even though you're with me, no matter what I do, or say, you're never tainted."

They remained silent under the shower for a moment longer, "It's as if you're protected by something. It shields you, hides you away. Even though I..." his voice petered off as Harry heard the blood pound in his ears once again, blocked by the sound of the shower and water rushing against his eardrums. "... you so much."

That night while Draco slept beside him, Harry sat up in bed and watched as the waxing gibbous moon appeared after being concealed behind heavy clouds. With the knowledge that his time was already overdue, Harry fell into fitful sleep, afraid that the magic spell that pulled him towards Draco would soon break under the heartless gaze of the next full moon's light.

---

The next morning was overcast. Harry could already feel the gloom of the day set in. Tonight was meant to be a full moon. There was nothing left he could do for Draco any longer. Astoria had been taken away, but Draco seemed to be going on strong. Perhaps this newfound strength had been the happiness that Draco was looking for? Perhaps money, even? Harry hated to think that Draco would be so shallow as to want happiness from money alone. But there were people like that in the world, weren't there?

'_Completely ignoring the fact that he had thrown all of Astoria's mother's money out the window..._' Harry reminded himself. Draco had made sure that Harry was fully dressed in warm clothing before taking him outside to help with the shopping. Draco had closed the shop for the day in advance, due to their luck in 'easy money', so that they could relax without having to rush back and forth between the shops and the restaurant.

They were about to leave when they heard a loud sneeze from the alley where they stored their rubbish. Harry was shocked when he ran towards alley and saw a familiar blonde girl shivering and hiding behind the dumpster.

Draco stood stock still for a moment as he stared down at her pathetic form, with nothing on her except for the clothes on her back. "How long have you been here?" he asked her, his voice barely steady.

She looked ashamed at her dirty form and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her sweater, "Um... I left home yesterday, and arrived here at dawn... but," she began to tear and sniffed loudly, "I was so afraid to bother you, that I just stayed here."

Draco stepped forward, his lip curled in irritation at her snivelling. "Enough! Stand up, and come inside where it's warm."

Astoria nodded and stood up on sore, shaky legs. Harry could see that her feet were blistered – she had probably taken off her shoes from the pain of travelling so far. Draco's face was stoic, emotions carefully hidden, patiently waiting until she had staggered to her feet and took a step forward.

Then Draco's cold mask fell and he grasped her arm and snatched her towards him, burying his face into the crook of her neck. "Astoria... Astoria, how I've missed you."

'_Perhaps this was the happiness that Draco was looking for?'_

Harry watched as they embraced, Astoria sobbing into Draco's chest as she apologised over and over again, promising that she would never leave, not if she could help it. For the first time, Harry saw the most beautiful smile grace Draco's lips.

'_He was looking for love?'_

---

"_You don't understand! When mermen love, their love is deep. Humans are fickle and selfish! They will take advantage of your love! You will only be hurt!"_

---

"_Young Prince, why do you summon me?"_

_Harry kept his gaze firmly on the great sorcerer, Albus Dumbledore, his eyes unblinking from the elderly man's steady sight._

"_I wish to go to the Land of Man. There is... someone I want to see."_

"_The legs of man will only cause you great pain, my Prince."_

"_Please!"_

"_Do you know what you ask of me, young Prince?"_

_Harry kept his head bowed respectfully, his tone contrite as he rephrased his command to a request, "I apologise, Sorcerer Dumbledore. Please, I beg of you, free me from captivity at the Palace. Grant me a life above The Surface, please!"_

---

'_I don't care if it hurts. As long as I can see that Draco is happy... I don't care if it hurts.'_

---

"Hey Harry," Astoria called to him where he sat by the kitchen table later on that day. She was baking something for their dessert that night. "We were thinking of moving to another town, since..."

"Since we don't know if _they'll_ be coming back for us, or not," Draco finished for her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she smiled up at him. "We don't want to presume, but we'd hope that you'd come with us."

Harry shook his head slowly, and then turned back to his mug of tea when Astoria excitedly began to make plans. She and Draco were constantly coming up with new places to go to, talking about exciting cities they would visit and more of the world out there that was just waiting for them to explore. He didn't notice Draco's crestfallen countenance towards his response, unaware of the faded smile or dimmed eyes.

But Harry had no part in it. They wouldn't miss him anyway.

'_My wish has already been granted_,' he gazed upon Draco's smiling face and felt as if his broken heart had lifted considerably. Broken, yes, but lifted nonetheless.

As the hours passed, the sun had set and the full moon was steadily rising. The time for him to leave was rapidly approaching. As nightfall came, Harry found himself at the beach, standing knee-deep within the waves. He could smell the rain coming and he basked in the feel of the ocean swelling around him.

"You know, no one comes to this small town without a reason," Harry nearly stumbled when he heard Draco's voice. Of course, the sand had softened Draco's footsteps so he had not heard him approaching. "And I've never asked you your reason for being here – who you are, why you've come, where you came from – I know nothing about you," _But I want to._ Draco paused when Harry merely turned away from him and stared back over the sea, "Are you going to be okay? Without us, I mean."

Harry nodded his head slowly and gave the moon a wistful smile. It was his doorway between the palace and his home; between his family and his love. Draco stood firmly by the shoreline as he asked, "But do you have somewhere to go home to?"

Turning on the spot, Harry pointed to the sea. Draco frowned, puzzled by the meaning of Harry's action, "Overseas? Across the sea?"

Harry shook his head.

"In the sea...? The... the ocean?" Harry gave a so-so shake of his head, then jabbed his finger at the ocean again. "The ocean... ocean depths?"

Harry nodded eagerly, a happy smile that somehow hurt, lighting up his features as Draco stared at him with a mix of shock and disbelief. "I-impossible. You can't live there! How will you- hey! Hey where are you going?" Draco called to him when Harry suddenly turned and began to wade further into the water until it was up to his waist. "Harry, stop!"

Draco grabbed Harry's wrist and spun him around to face him, trying to quell the way his heart had suddenly leapt to his throat when Harry moved away. And he was shocked by what he saw. No words could describe the look of amazement on his face as he watched Harry cry, as he felt Harry cup his hands together so that dozens, hundreds of tiny pearls began to fall from Harry's eyes. Some plopped back into the sea, most of them caught between the cradle of Draco's hands.

It made Draco think back to another fairytale that his mother had told him as a child. About the mermaid who cried a thousand pearls for the man she loved. And when she had given up all her pearls, she had died.

Now that Draco thought about it, Harry had cried two thousand, just for him. Draco felt the weight of Harry's pearls, _Harry's tears_, in his hands and stared at the ocean with unseeing eyes. Harry had disappeared when he had been staring at the pearls in his hands. He didn't notice when droplets of rain began to fall into the ocean around him; he didn't notice when his vision began to blur.

'_I'm crying,'_ he thought helplessly as tears mingled with the sudden downpour. '_Harry..._'

He didn't notice when Harry's tears fell into the ocean from his slackened hands, too busy occupied by the suffocating, _aching _feeling in his chest.

---

Draco took one last glance around the building that had been his home and his restaurant for the past two years. It had been hard to get where he was, but this time, he felt like he had to move on; move on to newer and greater things. He couldn't be stuck here, in this small town, forever.

"Are you ready to get going?" Draco asked, as Astoria did a final check of all the rooms. She nodded her head when she returned and hoisted her backpack over her shoulder.

"It's weird seeing it so empty. Are you sure you didn't leave anything behind?"

Draco didn't answer that question as he turned and headed towards the door. He held it open for Astoria and then locked it for the final time. Astoria stood by the steps, her hand outstretched for him to take.

"Where do we plan on going?" she asked, smiling as he took her hand in his.

"I don't know. But it will be somewhere by the water, maybe. Where we can see the ocean, and _be seen_ from the ocean," he answered honestly. She shot him a quizzical look, which he ignored, then looked out at his view from the cliff-face for the final time.

_But not the last time, Harry. This isn't goodbye. I'll see you again. This is not..._

**The End

* * *

**

**Rice-Ball247:** Thank you for staying with me for these three chapters. One Thousand Pearls is finally complete. I hope by now that you understand the significance of the pearls, especially the title. If you have any final questions, I will try to answer them in a review reply. If there is a recurring question, I will post it here.

**Sequel? **I know the ending was a little ambiguous. I had an idea for another mermaid story, where Draco is a mermaid crown prince and he drags Harry to his kingdom to -coughmakehimhisbridecough-. But... then I thought, perhaps I'll just make a sequel to this, where Draco-- and Harry-- well. I'll leave that idea for another time. See you all, hopefully at one of my other stories!


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